Below is an annotated list of children's literature for the elementary classroom. The books are organized by the Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design (Picower, 2007). It is based on work by pre-service teachers at Montclair State University. They have read and reviewed these books and provided insights into how they can be used in K-5 settings.

Monday, April 9, 2012

What's the point of being green?

What’s the point of
being green? is an excellent resource
book written by Jacqui Bailey. The book
raises awareness about pollution and how everyone can do their part in saving the
planet and keeping it green. The book is
divided into short chapters that cover different environmental challenges and
discusses ways children can help preserve their carbon footprint. For example
the chapter on trees discusses why trees are important, why do we cut trees
down, what happens when people cut them down, and how we can be more forest
friendly. Throughout each chapter a cartoon teenager provides facts about the
environment and gives the reader solutions on how to be more eco-friendly.

Element 5

What’s the point of
being green is a great example for Element 5 raising awareness. It provides amazing photos on what’s
happening to the earth and supports its claims with child friendly science
facts about the issue. It covers issues such as pollution, the greenhouse effect,
different types of energy, how pollution became such an issue and more. The
most interesting aspect of the book is that it not only brings awareness to the
problem, but also offers solutions on how people can make a change.

Activity

There are several activities that can be done with children
that relate to recycling. One activity that you can do is to place several recyclable
and non- recyclable items in front of them and with a worksheet have the students
separate which items can and cannot be recycled. Then after they separate the
items, the teacher can then have a discussion on which items can be eliminated
altogether to go completely green. A
second activity that a teacher can do is to do an experiment on how plastic
garbage affects sea animals. The students will hook one end of a rubber band
around their little finger and then stretch it behind their hand and hook the
free end to their thumb. Then ask the students to remove the rubber band without
using their fingers or their other hand. Remind the students that sea animals
do not have hands and if they get caught in plastic they have no way of removing
it from their bodies. Ask the students
how this could have been prevented and in what ways are they going to help the
planet stay green.